UK cinemas to ban Google Glass over piracy concerns

Google Glass crossed the pond earlier this month but the reception hasn't exactly been stellar. According to a report from The Independent, cinemas in the UK are preparing to ban the headset over fears that it would be used to make pirated copies of movies.

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the Cinema Exhibitors' Association, said customers will be asked not to wear Glass into cinema auditoriums whether a film is playing or not. A spokesperson for the Vue theater chain said they will ask guests to remove the eyewear as soon as the lights dim at the start of a movie.

Some may think the ban is a bit much as Glass can only record 45 minutes of continuous video footage before the battery expires. But as the publication points out, gangs are able to stitch together multiple clips and dub an audio track over the video to make usable bootlegs that can be sold or uploaded online with ease.

Earlier this year, an AMC movie theater called the authorities over a suspected film pirate. Federal agents reportedly detained a man they thought was using Glass to illegally record a movie, holding him for questioning for about three and a half hours before finally letting him go.

Movie theaters aren't the only ones with privacy concerns as it relates to Glass. Hospitals are also expected to ask visitors to remove the headset to protect patient privacy. Perhaps this whole privacy scare is one of the reasons we didn't see or hear much of anything about Glass at this year's I/O conference?